Ag briefs, June 16

An interactive plant diagnostic clinic will run from 8:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. July 2 in Marfa.

“We’ll start out in the Paisano Hotel Ballroom,” said Jesse Schneider, Presidio County agent. “But I want to stress that this is a totally interactive program that will be full of live plant identification to test your skills along a walking tour with specialists from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.”

Individual registration is $10 payable upon arrival. No lunch will be provided.

For information, contact Schneider at 432-729-4746.

STERLING CITY

Sterling range tour set Thursday

A Range and Livestock tour, hosted by Sterling County AgriLife Extension Service, will start at 9 a.m. Thursday.

The program will begin with a classroom session in the Sterling County Community Center in Sterling City and later tour a demonstration area north of town, said Chad Coburn, Sterling County agent.

“Fence-line control of noxious brush species is a topic we’ll cover,” Coburn said. “Birds perching on fences pass many seeds that soon choke fence lines, so it’s a constant battle to keep fences clean. Pasture fencing runs to multiple thousands of dollars per mile, so like any other capital improvement, it pays in the long run to keep them maintained.”

Other topics will include juniper and cedar mortality and herbicide laws and regulations.

Individual registration is $10 due upon arrival. For more information contact Coburn at 325-378-3181.

SONORA

Prescribed burn workshop Aug. 8-10

The Academy for Ranch Management will host a prescribed burning school Aug. 8-10 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station, 28 miles south of Sonora on S.R. 55.

The workshop will provide information on the history of fire, weather, planning a burn, fuels and fuel moisture, and equipment, according to Ray Hinnant, senior research associate in College Station and workshop presenter. The fee for the workshop is $395, payable upon registration, plus a $45 facilities-use fee. For information, call Hinnant at 979-820-1778; to register, call Jeanne Andreski at 979-862-2128.